In 1986, Angels' first baseman Wally Joyner became the first rookie to start an All-Star Game. The next year he got even better, as he became the ninth player in baseball history to record 100 RBI in each of his first two seasons. Unfortunately, the sweet-swinging left-hander never had that type of success again, and the All-Star appearance as a rookie was the onlyone of his career.
Quotes From Wally Joyner
"I still felt great when I was on deck, felt great walking back to the dugout. It was what was in between that wasn't so great anymore." — Wally Joyner, on why he retired in 2001
Teams Wally Joyner Played For
California Angels (1986-1991) Kansas City Royals (1992-1995) San Diego Padres (1996-1999) Atlanta Braves (2000) Anaheim Angels (2001)
Best Season: 1987 Joyner backed up his rookie campaign with an even better season: slugging 34 homers with 117 RBI and 100 runs scored. His .528 SLG percentage was to be the highest of his career. He finished 13th in AL MVP voting.
Factoids A model of consistency when it came to two-baggers, Wally Joyner hit between 27 and 36 doubles 11 times in his career.
Born Wallace Keith Joyner was born on June 16, 1962, in Atlanta, GA.
Post-Season Appearances
1986 American League Championship Series
1996 National League Divisional Series
1998 National League Championship Series
1998 National League Divisional Series
1998 World Series
2000 National League Divisional Series
Milestones
July 29, 2000: 200th HR...
July 31, 2000: 2000th Hit... Came two days after his 200th career home run.
Batting Feats
October 3, 1987: 3 HR...
Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time Joyner missed much of the 1986 ALCS due to a staph infection.
Transactions June 6, 1983: Drafted by the California Angels in the 3rd round of the 1983 amateur draft.
October 28, 1991: Granted Free Agency.
December 9, 1991: Signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.
December 21, 1995: Traded by the Kansas City Royals with Aaron Dorlarque (minors) to the San Diego Padres for Bip Roberts and Bryan Wolff (minors).
December 22, 1999: Traded by the San Diego Padres with Reggie Sanders and Quilvio Veras to the Atlanta Braves for Bret Boone, Ryan Klesko, and Jason Shiell.
October 30, 2000: Granted Free Agency.
January 25, 2001: Signed as a Free Agent with the Anaheim Angels.
